If you don’t know what to read, read the lexicon – a review of the book “Od Nerwosolka do Yansa. 50 comics from the times of the Polish People’s Republic that you must read before you die “

The times of the People’s Republic of Poland are long behind us, but we have some interesting things left – many of them fantastic Polish comic books. If you’ve ever stumbled upon Jonek and Jonka, or Kajka and Kokosz, this item perfectly complements the fan knowledge about them and 48 other titles.

From my youth I remember that when I went to the library, I always came back with a full armful of comic books by Polish artists. Of course, Szarlota Pawel was the queen for me at that time, but also other titles were deeply remembered by me. So with great excitement and emotion, I accepted the lexicon by Daniel Koziarski and Wojciech Obremski, which, as the announcement indicated, was to be a must-have for comic book fans.

The colorful aspect of the gray and sad times

From Nerwosolka to Yansis a lexicon containing fifty titles from the times of the People’s Republic of Poland created by Polish authors. Publications are discussed in alphabetical order (with titles), so if you are looking for a comic by a specific author, you need to do some research. Unfortunately, there is no table of contents in this book, so we are also unable to get a glimpse of the full list of the titles it contains. Each section for a specific comic begins the same way. First, we see one cover or a graphic section, and then we go to the page with the title, creators’ details and a description from the editors. I missed more graphics while reading, because in my opinion such single pictures will not encourage new people to reach for the mentioned comics. A book through the big light between the lines of text, white pages and such failure to use the graphic potential (sometimes even left blank pages) give the impression of a scientific work additionally. Determined people, however, will be able to read it, and let’s be honest – the target group of this publication are fans or readers at least partially familiar with PRL comics, rather than completely new and green people looking for entertainment.

Who, what, when and why?

Despite the graphic remarks, the lexicon itself is worth appreciating. Fans growing up in the times of the Polish People’s Republic, who used comics such as Kajko i Kokosz , Thorgal or Gapiszon , will surely learn more about them. This publication pleasantly broadens the context of either the origin or the ending of some series. Editors write in a very accessible way and refer to a list of various sources (the bibliography is included at the end), so we can be sure that the information is substantively supported by something. There are some quotes, a lot of curiosities and many interesting backstories that you read with pleasure and interest.

Would Kleks like it?

I have mixed feelings about this publication. On the one hand, the content is worth our time and brings a pleasant injection of knowledge, especially for fans of publications from the times of the Polish People’s Republic. On the other hand, however, I am not entirely satisfied with the release. It’s a good idea to fan through this book before buying and decide for yourself.